FKWar 14 - War Mistress's Updates
The 14th FK War (title withheld) runs from January 13, 2013 through January 28, 2013. War Mistress *Name withheld. Premise Early in December, flyers begin to show up in the hometowns of FK fans - on the flyers are three symbols. On Christmas, Natalie, Tracy, and Schanke all receive a wooden box containing a bottle of wine from Point Pelee Estates, it is a "private reserve." That same night, Nick, LaCroix, Janette, and Vachon all receive a copy of the book "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien. Some days later, the same three symbols that were on the flyers appear carved in the snow outside of CERK, laid out in flagstones outside Vachon's church, and spray painted on the water tower above Nick's loft. There is a mystery afoot. Can the FK Fans figure it out before it's too late? Factions Involved The factions officially playing in War 14 are: Cousins, Mercs, Nick & Nat Pack (a.k.a., NNP), Die Hards, Knighties, Vaqueros, Ravenettes, Perks, and RatPackers. There is also one independent. *'Cousins:' **'Leaders:' Cousin Tok, Arletta, Cousin Shelley **'Players:' McLisa, Marci, MB, Brandi, Rhonda **'Vamp Kitties:' Gandalf, Merlin, Tirian, Toshi, Duncan, Zorro **'Mortal Cousinly kitties:' Willow, Frodo, Rambo **'and sundry:' Tammy the receptionist, Alex the chef. *'Die-Hards:' **'Players:' Don Fasig, Greer Watson, Ron the Enforcer *'Knighties:' ** Leaders: Brooksie, Nancy Taylor (NAT) ** Members: Katrinka, Lisa, Vickie, Eowyn, Gemsong, Min, Debbi *'Mercenary Guild:' ** Leaders: Mildred Cady ** Members: 'Laura, Kat, Sara, Liz, Bast * 'Nick&NatPack: ** Leaders: Susan Bennett **'Members:' Karen (Nitenurse), Kelly *'RatPack:' **'Member:' Libby Smith *'Ravenettes' **'Member:' Alexander Braun *'Vaqueros': **'Members:' Angel, Tabs, Tricia, Marilyn (VaqShaman), Melissa, Naia Zifu, Teri *'Perks': **'Members:' Anne Jensen *'Independent': **'non-Member': Bonnie (former cousinly receptionist, not the llama, once ardent Vaquero, betrayer of men) Highlights of the War * December 25 - gifts are given. * January 13 - FK Fans begin arriving in Toronto. * January 15 - Susan B & Karen G are awarded 10 points for their clever deductive skills in their post "NNP - Deciphering 101." Also, Bonus Points go to the Knighties for getting Nick to reveal some relevant information in their post "Knighties: We're Baaaack, Nick!" (part 2). * January 16 - Kudos to Kelly and Greer W for their interpretation of Latin in "NNP: Searching For Santa" and ".Die-Hards: Rummage Through The Bins" *'January 17' - turns out Det Schanke was the brains out of those partners of the month after all. Don Schanke gets 10 points for his deductive reasoning in "NNP - Donuts With Don." First attack of the war appears in "Vaqs: First blood? Papercuts!" *'January 18' - honourable mention goes to Alex B for the first mention of Sherlock Holmes. *'January 19 -' the Knighties invite all the FKWar players to a potluck at Nick's Loft on Sunday January 20, after sunset. Also, 5 point *from* the NNP for finding a clue left for someone else in their post "NNP - Sometimes The Clue Finds You." *'January 20 '- the NNPack are getting "warmer" in their post "NNP: Love & Chocolate Brownies." Also, after sunset, the Knightie Potluck begins; naturally, a food fight quickly ensues, in "Knighties: Pot Luck Dinner Cooks Up Lofty Ideas" (part 4). *'January 21 - '''the Mercs pull a job on the Knighties (first Merc job of the war) in "Mercs: All Bricked Up." Also, 5 points to the NNP for discovering a clue inside the box. But 10 points *from* the NNP for possibly destroying other clues in the process. Also, in "Die-Hards: Pots Of Potluck" (back dated to Saturday-into-Sunday), 5 points to Don for his spreadsheet of information. And 4 points *from* the Die-Hards for seemingly being more organized than the War Mistress. 25 points to the Cousins and Ravenettes for collaborating in "Cousins: Days Of Wine And Hobbits." 10 points to Greer for finding more numbers inside one of the wine boxes in "Die-Hards: Compassing The Box." *'january 23 -''' Warmistress posts a 2 parter in which one of the gifted wine boxes is completely dismantled so that each of the six inside surfaces can be clearly seen. Note: explanations of the progress made so far is being kept updated below. As further clues come to light, they will be posted as well This will be followed up shortly with a post by Bonnie informing you all that you will be receiving something else on Thursday. * Additional Resources *@FKWM14 *J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, ISBN 0-345-33968-1 *book ciphers * Clues and Solutions The Runes *Upward facing arrow (means Warrior), sideways hourglass (means danger or adventure), diamond (means reward) - solution based on the runes Gandalf carved in Bilbos door (in the book, not the film); Nick Knight conveyed this to the Knighties in "Knighties: We're Baaaack, Nick!" part 2. Wine Box Numbers : Found in the wine boxes Natalie, Tracy, and Schanke received for Christmas (same in all the boxes, though some may be easier to read than others) - also, the NNP smashed their box (oops!) leaving only one of the panels intact. : The War Mistress has revealed that it is a book cipher - using 'The Hobbit' as the key to break the code. *'Front Sliding Panel = 17 03 21 11 18 27 07 85 15' = the words "twenty", "one", "nine".'' These were numbers found on a flyer for a band performing at Instagramme (a bar located at the site formerly occupied by the nightclub Paparazzi on the corner of King Street W and Simcoe Street''). Inside the bar, behind a bulletin board, envelopes addressed to each of the factions were found. *'Back Panel = 06 05 11 12 31 12 15 21 09 '(first found by the NNP) *'Bottom Panel = 11 18 27 17 03 21 10 27 09' (first found by the Die-Hards) *'Top Panel = 17 03 21 05 01 22 08 11 23' *'Left Side Panel = 06 05 11 17 03 21 10 27 09' *'Right Side Panel = 11 18 27 10 27 09 16 04 20 ' Quote List *It could just as easily have been LaCroix's fault, but Bonnie was still having nightmares about LaCroix dressed as Neville Longbottom's grandmother, so she preferred not to entertain that option right now. The Dragon" *Cousin Shelley boarded the plane to Toronto. "Its war!" she whispered excitedly to her seatmate. "War, I say!" The woman squirmed a little and looked uncomfortable. Getting There" *"So, we have an Indian with bad aim who is running out of time to find a diamond. I think we've solved it!" We're Heeeere!" *"Dang cops usually don't just leave my tickets, usually they like to stick around and give a nice long lecture: 'Don't put on make-up while driving. Keep all 4 wheels on the road. Don't drive on the sidewalk. nag nag nag,'" she mumbled while making a face. A Trip To Take" *"... Isn't Ludum an olden times pain reliever?" asked. The nurse practitioner in Karen awoke; "That would be laudanum," she said. Does That Wine Go With Lamb?" *Watching a a performance on a stage Janette dressed as Lady Gaga doing the Gangnam I turned to my left and LaCroix was talking to me in Latin 'putatis Janette est ostendo eam artisticae, latus.' Then he looked to me and smiled! Peach Wine And Saki Dreams" (ed.-it is the opinion of this editor that the Latin phrase loosely translates to "The Aristocrats!") *I needed to think about what I had found out so far the clues are all vague lots numbers of a particular wine estate and runes on scattered pamphlets this is almost as vague as Vachon ever was. Wandering Soul" *"We should all go clubbing. I think I know where they're playing tonight. And I kinda have an 'in' with the band." grinned again. "I sit in with them from time to time if they need a guitarist." [Vaqs: Smoke and Mirrors" *"We deliver a bottle of diet soda with it." ... "And we rig the lid to drop a Mentos mint into it when they open it," Shelley finished triumphantly, remembering when her kids had tried a similar experiment and the sticky spots she had to find and clean up for days afterwards. Houston, We Have A Plan" (2/3) *Bonnie walked over to the front desk, paused, cleared her throat, and said Tammy the CERK receptionist, "Tell Hee Haw to go frack his buns." You Can Still Change Your Mind" *Then Cousin Tok had to go and say something about Nick, after all these years, still being a brick and ungrateful to Uncle. Pot Luck Dinner Cooks Up Lofty Ideas" (part 4) *Laura grinned. "Yeah. I'm thinking of buzzing CERK just for the heck of it. Wanna come?" All Bricked Up!" *Karen spun around, opened a drawer, pulled out a hammer, and smashed the box open before anyone could stop her. She swatted the broken pieces of wood out of the way, leaving only the back panel. Laundry And Lunch" *Laura rigged up a simple device--once they opened the door, it hit a bowling ball, which rolled to a trigger, which released all the confetti. To Fulfill A Debt" (ed.-apparently that does constitute "simple" in the Merc dictionary.) *"The first runes," said Greer, sitting down. "The Nick and Nat Pack think it has to do with finding a cure for vampirism." "I'm sure they do," said Don. "And not for the first time," he added. "They're inclined to read that into *everything*, aren't they?..." Pots Of Potluck" *Don had been surprised when she'd come back to the HQ bearing blankets; but Ron looked at them, and then off into the distance. (You know, the way Nick's always doing.) From the look of him, they brought back memories. Pots Of Potluck" {ed.-it is the opinion of this editor that Ron is thinking about small pox.) *1992 was the year Forever Knight came to life, but it was also the year the Pelee Winery Pavilion came to life. One couldn't help but wonder whether it was truly a war for Nick's mortality… or a war for a bumper crop of grapes after a particularly harsh winter. Clueless In The Kitchen" *"Honesty?" Deborah said. "There's a novel concept." Days Of Wine And Ravens" *"Alma I need you go to the CERK and give the cousins a letter" said. "Why should I" Alma pouted "Its a War you know" "So?" "Now your in it you've been drafted" You're In The War Now, Alma" *